On 24 November, policy makers, private sector and development partners from around the world committed to work together to expand women’s access to finance and economic participation, and to support women leaders, at a high-level event in Luxembourg.
The Global Dialogue on Women’s Leadership and Gender Inclusive Finance, organized by AFI and the Ministry of Finance of Luxembourg, in partnership with the European Investment Bank, brought leaders from 18 AFI member institutions together with stakeholders from the global political, financial and developmental ecosystem.
Discussions covered the need to expand access and usage of tailored financial products for women, how to strengthen women’s leadership in financial markets, and opportunities for the public and private sector to collaborate on data and digital innovation.
During his intervention, Minister Gilles Roth underlined that women’s leadership is essential for progress and prosperity: “Gender-inclusive finance is not a ‘nice to have’ – it is core to making our economies stronger, fairer, and more competitive. In today’s fractured world, Luxembourg’s financial centre is determined to lead by example. By helping to mainstream gender finance, we can make finance more profitable and resilient; ultimately, this drives growth for companies and citizens in Europe and beyond.”
“Investing in women’s entrepreneurship is both the right and the smart thing to do. It drives growth, competitiveness, stronger and more stable societies,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “We are determined to stay the course, alongside like-minded partners such as the Luxembourg Government and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.”
“Today’s event highlights how Europe and emerging nations are increasingly aligned not just on financial inclusion and gender issues, but across the development agenda,” said AFI CEO, Dr Alfred Hannig. “Transformational progress can only come through mutual, joint and open learning in all directions.”
“We need to ensure women get access to the financial tools they need to grow and scale a business, said Elsie Addo Awadzi, former Bank of Ghana Deputy Governor and Chair of AFI’s Gender Inclusive Finance Committee. “That goes way beyond opening bank accounts, and includes savings products, credit, but also patient capital through angel investors and PE/VC funds, and access to the stock market and bond markets – that will be the real game changer for job creation and sustainable economic growth.”
The event marked the launch of AFI’s Euro-Global Inclusive Policy Dialogue Series, a new platform for AFI member institutions to exchange financial inclusion knowledge, innovation, and policy experience with European stakeholders.
“The Dialogue Series will focus on our members’ most pressing issues, such as digital transformation, consumer protection, financial literacy and climate resilience, allowing us to move rapidly from conversation, to collaboration, to sustained change,” said Dr Hannig.
